Notre Dame Football: Reviewing the Recruiting Class of 2011 on Senior Day

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With senior day around the corner for a young Notre Dame football team, it’s an appropriate time to look back at the recruiting class of 2011 for the Irish and see how things have panned out.

According to 247Sports’ team rankings, Irish head coach Brian Kelly hauled in the No. 9 recruiting class in the country in 2011. Defensive end Aaron Lynch (No. 9 overall in the country, per 247Sports’ Composite Rankings), defensive end/outside linebacker Ishaq Williams (No. 26) and defensive end Stephon Tuitt (No. 32) headlined the class, which had a heavy emphasis on the front seven.

Tight end Ben Koyack (No. 43), offensive lineman Matt Hegarty (No. 56) and wide receiver DaVaris Daniels (No. 93) rounded out the upper echelon of Notre Dame’s class.

Let’s take a look back at select members of the class.

Aaron Lynch

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After starting six games as a true freshman and tallying 5.5 sacks, Lynch announced his intention to transfer to South Florida in the spring. Naturally, his departure was a big loss for Notre Dame.

Kelly had expressed his high hopes for Lynch during national signing day in 2011.

“There will be a lot of things that we'll be able to develop,” Kelly said at the time. “He's not even hit where he can be as a defensive lineman. He's just playing with raw athletic ability, being tenacious all the time. And he's always getting after it. And we'll be able to develop him in his skill at that position as well.”

Lynch had to sit out the 2012 season at South Florida due to transfer rules. As a junior, he earned first-team all-conference honors in the AAC after notching six sacks. Lynch declared for the NFL draft and was selected in the fifth round by the San Francisco 49ers. He has recorded three sacks in 10 games in his rookie season.

Front Seven

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

In addition to Lynch, Williams and Tuitt, Notre Dame added defensive end Anthony Rabasa, outside linebacker Ben Councell, outside linebacker Troy Niklas, inside linebacker Jarrett Grace and defensive linemen Tony Springmann and Chase Hounshell.

Injuries have broken up the careers of Councell, Grace, Springmann and Hounshell, in particular, and Niklas (now a tight end, of course) and Tuitt are in the NFL.

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#NotreDame’s front-7 2011 scholarship recruits have more NFL catches this year (3) than tackles for ND (1) this year. pic.twitter.com/B8QnbOivV9

— Mike Monaco (@MikeMonaco_) November 18, 2014"

Joe Raymond/Associated Press

“You never count on one particular class to be the backbone as much as you count on them to be leaders,” Kelly said Tuesday about the defensive side of that recruiting class. “You count on them to help. But I don't think it's ever one class. I think classes kind of can kind of set the tone for success by one player being a playmaker or two players, but I don't know that it ever stretches across the entire class. I think each one of them has individual qualities.”

That being said, Notre Dame hit the jackpot with middle linebacker Joe Schmidt, a preferred walk-on who eventually earned a scholarship and developed into a crucial cog in the Irish defense.

Offensive Skill

JOE RAYMOND/Associated Press

The Irish landed Daniels, Koyack, quarterback Everett Golson and running backs George Atkinson III and Cam McDaniel.

Koyack has climbed into the starting role this season after Niklas’ departure, and McDaniel has been the only other mainstay for all four seasons in South Bend.

Golson and Daniels have both missed semesters at the university, and Daniels has also not played this season following the investigation into “suspected academic dishonesty.”

Atkinson declared for the NFL draft following the 2013 season, but he went undrafted and signed with the Oakland Raiders. He is currently on Oakland’s practice squad.

Recruiting is hardly ever a straightforward process. Neither is player development. A former walk-on ended up being Notre Dame’s most productive senior in the front seven. An outside linebacker commitment turned into a second-round pick as a tight end. A wide receiver, Matthias Farley, switched to safety before turning into a steady nickelback for the Irish in 2014.

Four years later, senior day arrives for many of the members of that class of 2011 when the Irish host Louisville on Saturday.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco on Twitter.